Road Trip
by The Cio
Summary: Warning: They are all happy little humans. Yay. Anyway, Bella and her friends are ready for summer break and all of its challenges. Seven days on a road trip with nine of her friends may just qualify as one.
1. The Plans: Both

**Okay, so, here's a fanfic, right? They're all merry and happy humans. Yay. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, or its characters, or pretty much anything else that is awesome. **

_**Chapter One: The Plan**_

**Bella's Point of View:**

Summer is pretty much upon us and the tension is almost tangible. I'm just waiting for someone to flip out and run out of the classroom screaming, "Summer break!". Sadly, it hasn't happened yet. So, to relieve the stress of school, my friend's and I have decided that it's now or never—road trip time. The friends in question being: Alice (the best friend), Edward (the perfect friend), Jasper (the calm friend), Emmett (the... big friend), Rosalie (the beautiful friend), Angela (the shy friend), Ben (the geeky friend), Mike (the dumb friend), and Jessica (the annoying one). Truth be told, the last two really invited themselves.

The 'I' in question is me. Bella Swan. I would consider myself to be the friend that really just happens to be there. No matter what Alice tries to convince me of.

So, it was lunch on the last "official" day of school and everyone at our table of ten was clamoring about last minute reminders and plans. Like who would ride with who, and choice destinations. This trip would quite literally be the **best**.

We would be getting out of Forks, Washington for a week to explore all of California. No adult supervision. No real time limits. Just us friends. Of course, I have ulterior motives for coming on this trip. I would be riding with my 'crush' and best 'guy-friend' Edward Cullen along with his sister (and my best friend) Alice Cullen. Oh, and Jasper, Alice's boyfriend, I guess.

Ben would be driving Angela, Mike, and Jessica. Emmett would be taking Rosalie—no one would dare interrupt their love-fest.

So, it was really a win-win situation for us all. Except Edward and Mike.

Edward had once told that he liked someone, but he wouldn't elaborate. If he would have just told me, I might have—grudgingly– dragged her along to make him happy. _Might have._

And, Mike wasn't happy because he like—and wanted to ride with— me. Unlike most of the female student body, I didn't feel the same way. The poor guy still hasn't gotten over me. I let out a low sigh at the thought of seven days alone with Mike—not pretty.

"Something wrong, Bella?" a familiar voice dragged me out of my deep thought. I looked up to find a pair of brilliant green eyes staring at me, full of worry. Their color was so soft and warming. I felt like I could easily stare forever, but, as usual, I didn't.

I quickly looked back down at the lunch table and mumbled out, "Nothing."

"Bella," the voice sighed. I looked up again to see the gorgeous owner of the voice shaking his head, warily. "You know I can read you like a book. Tell me what's wrong. Really."

I was really tempted to blurt out "You're so pretty, you know that?" and promptly make a run for it, but I settled for, "It's nothing. I promise."

Edward continued to shake his head slowly, his messy bronze locks falling into deeper disarray, "It's never nothing. You know you can tell me."

And, I really knew that I could, I just never _would_. So, I voiced that without really thinking my words through. "Oh, I know Edward. I just really don't think I will."

At this he raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. Mentally, I face palmed. "You won't, will you?" His voice was so sweet, so perfect. "That's a first. And, why is that?"

How I direly wanted to tell him, but my cowardice won out, as usual. "Because it is _private_," I emphasized the word with a low hiss, locking my eyes with his own. "Besides, I might end up telling you, one of these days." Yeah, right. When pigs fly.

**Edward's Point of View:**

Finally, it was lunch and the last day of school. Next year we would all be seniors and go our separate ways to college afterward. It was really no surprise to any of us when my sister—Alice—started to orchestrate a road trip. We'd been talking about it for years, really. After all, most of us has known each other since we were little. This would be our special way to celebrate the years we've had together.

I sat there, pretty much reliving the past few years, all the time I had spent with the best of friends I had. I have to say, I couldn't have asked for a better life.

There's Alice, my sister and partner in mischief. I really couldn't ever live without her. Then there was Bella... words really can't describe her. She's unlike _anyone_ I've _ever_ met. And, Emmett, the jester, I guess. All the excitement comes from him, let me tell you... Jasper is sort of like the calm one that I can always count on. But when you get him started, better hope that you don't need him to stop anytime soon. These four people, well, they're basically my life. Importance varying daily, and such. Today, only Bella was on my mind.

My eyes peered over to her, permitting myself one of those furtive glances. What I say made me unable to take my eyes off of her, not that I wanted to. Her deep, chocolate brown eyes gazed longingly at the empty table in front of her. She shifted her arms to be folded in front of her, every movement of hers being silently cataloged in my mind. Not a single brown tuft would shift without my eyes taking notice of it. Her jaw suddenly set and her eyes hardened.

_Huh?_ I was so tempted to reach out to touch her, snap her out of her reverie. But then her eyes softened considerably and an audible sigh was let out of her perfectly plump lips. "Something wrong, Bella?" I immediately wished I hadn't said that. Would she think I was watching her?

As soon as the words had left my mouth, her eyes snapped up to mine, locking with them for a moment before shifting back to the table. "Nothing," she muttered, rather quietly.

"Bella," I began, sighing. I shook my head, thinking back. I knew how she was when she got like this. How badly I wanted to reach over and comfort her. "You know I can read you like a book. Tell me what's wrong. Really."

"It's nothing. I promise."

I knew that it was _never _nothing. And so I voiced my opinion. "It's never nothing. You know you can tell me."

"Oh, I know Edward. I just really don't think I will."

_What now?_ I rose an eyebrow at this. Since when did she not tell me things? "You won't, will you? That's a first. And, why is that?" I could feel the curiosity burning behind my words, and prayed that she did not sense it.

"Because it is _private_," her voice was low and urgent, her eyes finally rising to meet my own, some emotion behind them that I couldn't decipher. "Besides, I might end up telling you, one of these days." Her voice trailed off as she drifted back into thought. Typical Bella.

Yet, I found myself unable to pull my eyes away from her face. Something about her features was so soft, and warm... I quickly banished the thought from my mind. It was bad enough that I had let slip not too long ago that I liked someone. I really hoped she wasn't catching on to me already.

"Earth to Edward!" I heard Emmett's booming voice somewhere behind me and pried my eyes off Bella reluctantly. My head snapped around to face him.

"What?" I snapped with accidental impatience in my tone.

"Woah, there! No need to be so on edge, man," Emmett broke into a deep throaty laughter. "It's just you and Bella have kind of been spaced out for a few minutes there." Minutes? Really?

I could feel my face flush as my eyes flickered to Bella's and down again. "Oh" was all I could mutter out. In that brief second I had seen her face, it was as red as my own. Hm... how adorable that blush was.

I mentally swore that during the road trip, I would never miss a single blush that came off her cheeks. The road trip. Seven days with my friends. More importantly, seven days with Bella. How I looked forward to that. Only a few more days, and I would gladly drive her to where ever she wished.


	2. The Moment of Truth: Bella

**Erm. Next chapter. Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm going to be separating chapters from Bella's and Edward's points of views. X3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, nor its characters. **

**Chapter Two: The Moment of Truth: Bella**

"Coming!" I yelled from the top of the stairs, gingerly carrying a duffel bag full of essentials for the trip—clothes, toothbrush, cash, that sort of thing.

"Don't run!" Alice's high voice rang from the bottom of the stairs. I knew that when she warned me, it was always because of a reason—almost as if she _knew _something bad would happen. But, really, how could I not run? When my excitement got like this, all I could do was take the stairs two-by-two. And—of course—trip in the process.

As with every other time I tripped, I fell pretty much face down on the carpeted floor—Charlie had learned a while ago we needed carpet when I was around. Typical me, I guess. I landed at the bottom of the stairs with an audible 'oof', my lungs having been completely winded. And, as quickly as I had fallen, I was being pulled up by a pair of strong arms which were latched around my waist tightly. Huh?

Instantly, my head snapped up to recall this person helping me up. Disarranged bronze hair? Check. Breathtaking smile? Check. Deep green eyes? _Double_ check.

A larger smile was threatening to overtake his face as he set me straight, his arms remaining around my waist—not that I minded. He stared at me intently, as he always did. "Reading you like a book, Bella," he'd once said.

And, once I found I could speak again, albeit rather breathless, I said, "Hi, Edward. Read anything interesting?"

He blinked twice in rapid succession, obviously not expecting me to even _remember_ thatStill, he smiled a small, crooked smile and said, "You know, I think I did."

A cough from my right—his left—had us both jerk our heads in its direction. Alice and Charlie were standing there, mimicking each others' positions—arms folded, impatience written across their faces. "Come on, lovebirds! We haven't got all day!" Alice chirped. At the word 'lovebirds' we both met each others eyes for a fraction of a second and quickly turned in opposite directions, blushing like crazy. "And, Edward, you might want to give Bella her waist back," she finished with a smirk.

Immediately, he dropped his hands from my waist, looking flustered. And, yet, the spot where he'd been holding still tingled. But, before I could question that odd sensation, Alice took my bad in one hand and my hand in the other, dragging me to the door—almost literally. Edward followed suit, a bit of red still on his cheeks. I couldn't help but find that... cute? My lips curled up into an involuntary smile. Which he, upon noticing my eyes were still on him, returned. I never once considered the possibility of a _guy's_ blush to be cute. But, I seriously stood corrected.

"Bella," came Alice's typical 'I'm-complaining-and-you're-not-listening' voice. I whirled around, smiling apologetically. "Come on. Everyone is waiting for us. They're_ all _outside."

"I'm sorry, Alice," I said as sadly as I could manage. All she could do was sigh and drag me farther. "Bye, Dad!" I called out, waving with my free hand. "I'll see you next week!" How good that sentence sounded in my own ears. Not the 'not-seeing-Charlie-for-a-week' bit. I mean, I love my father. I meant the, 'wow-I'm-not-going-to-be-here-for-a-week' part. That thought brought a smile to my lips as I was rushed to the car, stopping at the back seat.

"Where do you think you're going, Bella?" Edward asked from behind me. Just the sound of his voice was all I needed to turn around, to take in his beauty.

"Um, getting in the car?" I suggested, wondering at what he was getting at.

"What, you don't want to sit next to me?" his expression and voice was teasing, but I couldn't help but sense a bit of fear behind them. He was afraid of that? As if...

I chuckled nonetheless. "I never called shotgun," I replied, smiling a mock grim smile.

"Oh," he said, mirroring my tone. "Such a shame... but, I think we can arrange it so that you can still get the seat. What do you say?" He winked and I could feel my heart pounding against my chest at that small facial gesture. I really questioned my infatuation, and whether it was entirely healthy.

Still, I smiled—a rather large smile too—and said, "Alright. That sounds good." I crossed over to the other side of the car, opening the passengers door, unreasonably anxious. I mean, Alice and Jasper were in here too, right? _Calm down, Bella. _I shook myself mentally, telling myself not to blow it. It wasn't everyday that Edward just sat so very close. Unless you count biology where we were lab partners.

But, as he drove out of my driveway with a smile, I couldn't help but feel the blush come to my cheeks. There wasn't even anything to blush about yet.

"Bella?" Alice asked.

"Yeah?" I replied, my voice softer than I intended. I didn't exactly trust it though.

"This is going to be great, I can feel it," she told me. I turned to see her beaming at me. I quickly returned to the smile, and returned my head to the window, taking in the dissipating scenery.

"You know what, Alice?" I asked, rhetorically. "I feel like it's going to be great too."


	3. The Moment of Truth: Edward

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, or its characters. Etc. **

**Chapter Three: The Moment of Truth: Edward**

"Go, go! We have to go pick her up now," Alice said, pushing futilely against my back. She was more adamant about getting to Bella's house on time than getting to Jasper's. That only left me to one conclusion—something was up. I shrugged the feeling off. Even if something was up, it shouldn't matter or effect me in any way.

So I got into my shiny, silver volvo—my second most prized possession—knowing, at least hoping, that Alice wasn't scheming in regards to anything that involved me. I kept instilling that idea into my head as I drove up to the Swan's residence.

"You," Alice said, all business and pointing at me. "Come with me."

"Why—" I started to object, but she cut me off.

"Just come. I know what I'm doing," she said, still commanding. She added, though under her breath, "Hehehe..." Sometimes I swear that she knew a little too well.

Wordlessly, I got out of the car, sending a confused glance in Jasper's direction. All I got in response was a shrug. Some help he is. I followed Alice a little slower than necessary as she practically skipped to the door. I, at least, was trying to keep my enthusiasm under control, knowing that as soon as I saw Bella, I would have to fight back the childish glee from escaping me.

I inhaled deeply as Alice rapped her knuckles against the door—bracing myself of course. Less than a few seconds later, Charlie yanked the door open, looking a bit out of disarray, but still somehow smiling as he ushered us in. "Welcome, welcome, I'll go call Bella."

"Thank you, Charlie," Alice said with one of her most charming smiles. Officer Swan was practically wrapped around her little fingers.

"Anytime, Alice," he replied, smiling back. With that he scurried off, leaving Alice and I behind at the door way, an uncomfortable silence befalling us.

My sister was the one to break the silence. "Get closer to the stairs," Alice warned quickly, her tone urgent.

At the same time an angelic call came from above, "Coming!"

"Don't run!" Alice called out to her from my side. Then her tone was low again, prodding me forward and mouthing, 'go, go'. And so I went, went—with a fairly perplexed expression on my face. I turned back to Alice, pleading for answers with my eyes. She just motioned with her head to the stairs.

I turned just in time to see Bella falling to the floor and landing with a slight 'oof'. I couldn't help but smile as I bent down, tying my arms around her waist and hoisting her back up to her feet. She was staring closely at my face, probably to recall her surroundings and see who had so abruptly brought her back up. I couldn't help but stare back, taking in every emotion that could possibly be playing in her mind.

Suddenly she spoke, her little stunt still leaving her breathless, "Hi, Edward. Read anything interesting?"

I couldn't help but blink a few times at that. _Huh? She remembers that? Weird._ I remembered the time I had once told her that after she had caught me staring at her. It was a really trivial encounter, but I wasn't one to forget it. She didn't forget either? I stowed that little tidbit of information for later. Now I was brought back to reality.

I smiled a small, lopsided smile and replied to her, "You know, I think I did."

A cough from our side garnered both of our attention's. My sister and chief Swan stood there, looking at our little charade. Immediately I tensed a bit. I didn't need her father on my case when she didn't even _like _me.

Alice interrupted my panicked thoughts when she said, "Come on, lovebirds! We haven't got all day!" When she said that, I couldn't help but quickly risk a look at Bella's eyes, wondering her emotion at the words that sent my own heart into hysterics. A blush had completely overtaken her face, and I felt the familiar heat fill my own face. "And, Edward, you might want to give Bella her waist back."

I dropped my hands from her waist as soon as her words registered in my mind. I hadn't even realized that they were clung so tightly to Bella's waist. I had probably just made a fool out of myself, but the sensation that my hands felt around her—it felt good. More than good. Right.

I looked up in time to find Alice had taken a hold of Bella's belongings and her hand and was promptly dragging her toward the door. It was odd how such a meaningless gesture set a pang of regret through my system. I could be leading her through the door, and carrying her things. I brought my attention back to Bella.

She was starring at me. And smiling? I smiled back, unsure of the reason behind her smile, but grateful nonetheless. She turned back around in due time to talk to Alice, but their words were lost to my ears, for my eyes were still remembering her smile.

"I'll see you next week!" she yelled back to her father as she passed the threshold into the world beyond her house. I saw her quickly hurry to the car—heading toward the backseat? Oh, no, she didn't.

"Where do you think you're going, Bella?" I asked. She wheeled around to look at me, looking a bit confused.

"Um, getting in the car?" she asked, oblivious to my hopes that she would ride in the front with me.

"What, you don't want to sit next to me?" I tried to keep my voice as teasing as possible and hide the fear that threatened to consume me. What if she really didn't want to ride in the front with me? Am I really that repulsive?

"I never called shotgun," she explained, playing along.

"Oh," I began, continuing with her sad explanation. "Such a shame... but, I think we can arrange it so that you can still get the seat. What do you say?" I winked, hoping I didn't overdo it. But, she seemed eager enough as she smiled—that of an angel.

"Alright. That sounds good," she replied, making her way to the passenger's side.

_More good than you know._ I couldn't help but think as I slid into the driver's seat. I smiled at Bella as she fastened her seatbelt and I drove away from her house. A small blush was lingering on her cheek. I almost couldn't bring myself to look away.

"Bella?" Alice asked from behind me.

"Yeah," she replied, her tone quiet as if she were afraid to speak any louder. It's not like I bite.

"This is going to be great, I can feel it," my sister told her, confidence in her every word.

"You know what, Alice?" she asked back. "I feel like it's going to be great too."

At that I had to risk another glance at her. She was staring at me again. I stared back for a bit as I forced myself to speak, "Yeah. I agree." It wasn't much, but it brought another smile to Bella's lips, and that was enough for me.


End file.
